<><><><><><>
"Hey! How did you get Headquarters to personally assign me to this detail? Hina is very curious!"
On the deck of the warship, Hina looked at Jin, her expression a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.
Jin just smiled and looked her over.
Hina was always impeccably dressed. Her tall, 181cm frame was always clad in a perfectly tailored, form-fitting magenta business suit. That, combined with her Marine coat of justice, gave her an air of heroic competence.
But what really caught Jin's eye was her... broad sense of responsibility.
He shrugged. "I'm the king of a member nation. This is just a small perk of the job."
The CP0 agent's words had been a wake-up call.
Shit. I'm a king.
The Marines? They're supposed to be working for me.
He paid the Heavenly Tribute every year, a massive sum of money that funded these very people. When he needed to use them, he was going to use them.
"Hmph. And here Hina thought you were different from the other kings," Hina grumbled.
She had been about to go on a mission to crush a pirate crew, to earn some merit, and instead, she'd been assigned to escort Jin to his special training.
At this rate, how was she ever going to make admiral?
"If you want to be a Rear Admiral, that's easy,"
Jin said with a grin. "—In the future, there will be plenty of pirates for you to catch around Hannabal Island."
Hina froze, looking at him in surprise. "How did you know what I was thinking? Don't tell me..."
"If you want a promotion, with my backing, we can make it happen..." Jin said. "Rear Admiral? I can make you a Vice Admiral. But on these seas, a title without the strength to back it up is just a joke. Instead of chasing pirates all over the world, you should take some time to focus on your own training, to increase your own combat power. Or are you telling me you don't want to be trained by Vice Admiral Garp?"
"Of course I want to," Hina said, surprised. "But... it's not that easy."
Jin smiled. "With me, it is. Otherwise, why would I have asked for you?"
"Hey, I'm doing this for your own good. Don't be ungrateful."
'Did Jin make another deal with Headquarters?' Hina wondered, her expression complex. Is this what power is? All her hard work, and it's not worth as much as a single word from a king?
Jin reached out and gave her a light smack on the back of the head. "So, are you in or out? If not, I'll find someone else."
"Ow! That hurt!" Hina rubbed her head and glared at him.
"I didn't say I wasn't going," she muttered.
—————————
G-3 base, located at the midpoint of one of the seven routes, near the Calm Belt, was a massive fortress.
At the docks, a tall, broad-chested, muscular old man was holding a bag of donuts.
"You guys could have handled receiving this king on your own," he said, taking a large bite. "Did you really have to drag me into it? What a pain."
"Vice Admiral Garp, these are Fleet Admiral Sengoku's orders," the Rear Admiral beside him said, his face stern. He had no choice. With a commander like Garp, if he didn't maintain a serious demeanor, nothing would get done.
Yes, "Get done."
Garp might have been a "hero" of the Marines, and the commander of the base, but other than drinking tea, eating snacks, and occasionally visiting the East Blue, he didn't do much of anything.
In his own words, "I'm an old man. You guys are the future of the Marines. I'm just training you."
Of course, besides that, Garp cared deeply for his subordinates and was incredibly reliable when it mattered. He was a good boss.
And for this particular mission, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had specifically ordered that Garp personally handle the training. He couldn't afford to slack off.
"Sengoku, really," Garp grumbled. "He knows I hate dealing with nobles, and he still assigns this to me."
"I hear it was the king's request," Bogard said. "He dealt with that 'disgrace' of the Marines, Gasparde, during the 'Dead End Race.' The Marines owe him one."
"Oh?" Garp said. "He can beat Gasparde? Is he a Devil Fruit user?"
"We're not sure," the Rear Admiral replied. "The Fleet Admiral's intention is for you to gauge his strength, Vice Admiral."
"Right. I get it." Garp and Sengoku had been partners for years. He could tell that Sengoku was very interested in this king. "Looks like I'll have to show off a little."
Garp took another bite of his donut. In the distance, two warships appeared, passing through the gates of the fortress.
The first was a small warship, clearly from Headquarters.
The second...
Garp's eyes narrowed. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary large sloop. But something was off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but when he looked at it, he had the strange feeling that the ship was looking back at him.
As if it were alive.
But in the next instant, the feeling was gone.
"Strange," Garp muttered.
The warships docked.
Lieutenant Commander Hina disembarked first and reported to Garp and the others. Then, Jin descended the gangplank.
Young.
Radiant.
Clean-cut.
Handsome.
Their first impression of Jin was a good one. He had a warm smile on his face. After stepping onto the docks, he looked at the assembled officers and immediately spotted the towering figure of Garp.
Garp was an absurd 287cm tall, but in the world of One Piece, there were people even taller. He had a scar over his left eye, intelligent blue eyes, and a full head of short, gray-white hair.
"Hero of the Marines..." Jin said, walking up to him. "Vice Admiral Garp, I'm a great admirer of yours. I'm so glad to finally meet you."
An admirer??
So he wasn't here to cause trouble.
The officers of G-3 all breathed a sigh of relief. The wary, guarded looks they had been giving Jin softened. It wasn't that they had anything against him personally, but there were just too many ridiculous, over-the-top kings in the world.
"I've also brought a little something from my homeland," Jin said, gesturing for his crew to bring a chest forward. "Some delicious mushrooms. The mess hall can have a feast tonight."
The mushrooms had been farmed by Ai in the carrier. They were a promotional item, a little something for the Marines to try. Maybe he could even land a procurement order from G-3.
"Delicious mushrooms?" the Rear Admiral said, suspicious. Mushrooms were tricky. One wrong one, and you could end up in a coffin.
"The mushroom farmers in my homeland are having a tough time," Jin explained. "So I'm here to help them out. Don't worry, I'll be eating them too. They're completely non-toxic."
The officers were surprised. A king who helped his people sell their products? They'd never seen anything like it. Could he really be a wise ruler?
"Send them to the mess hall," Garp said. "If the men like them, we can place an order."
"Thank you, Vice Admiral Garp."
Garp looked him over. "So you want me to train you?"
"Yes," Jin replied. "And Lieutenant Commander Hina as well. And I was hoping that the crew I brought with me could also receive some formal Marine training."
<><><><><><>
~ 60 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~# Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter!
~# Add to Library!